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Pop Quiz! Do You Know What Is — and Isn’t — a Service Animal?

Writer Thom Jones said, “Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them,” so it’s no surprise that dogs can also be trained to help people with disabilities. Service dogs helping the blind have been around for hundreds of years, but did you know there are also service dogs that help owners with…
The Frazzle Factor

Exploring the Link Between Stress and Heart Health by REBEKAH PIERCE If you’ve ever felt like stress is something that’s all in your head, think again. It’s likely doing much more than just making you feel overwhelmed. Chronic stress has a sneaky way of impacting your entire body, and those impacts aren’t just limited to…
Survivor’s Story

Alex Santiago Learns Family Is at the Root of His Heart in More Ways Than One by REBEKAH PIERCE “Listen to your heart.” That’s the advice given to practically everyone these days, it seems, from young entrepreneurs thinking about launching their own startups to high school students attempting to choose a college major. But for…

Skin Cancer Screening a Necessity for Floridians

It should come as no big surprise that simply living in Florida puts you at an increased risk for skin cancer. The reason for this is simple: The biggest cause of skin cancer is exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UV light) from the sun. There’s a reason that Florida is called “the Sunshine State,” and while…
Diagnosis and Treatment Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Last month, I explained what an aortic aneurysm is, how it can be detected, its presentation and risk factors. How Is It Diagnosed? An abdominal aortic aneurysm can be diagnosed with the help of an ultrasound, a safe, painless test that does not involve any radiation. If confirmed and found to be larger than…
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

An aneurysm is a “weakening” or “dilatation” in a part of an artery. An estimated 15,000 people die of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) every year in the US. About 200,000 new cases of AAA are diagnosed every year. Most of these are diagnosed by tests that are done for unrelated reasons. The aorta is…